Pieces (Riverdale #1) (24 page)

     
He couldn’t wait to ride it, but first
things first. He took her hands in his, and brought them to his lips, kissing
one hand and then the other. “I love you, Cara.” He stared into the deep green
of her eyes, losing himself for a moment.

     
She rested one of her hands over his
chest, where the image of her lay over his heart. “I know.” She leaned up and
pressed her lips softly to his, sealing their truth.

     
Cara pulled her lips from his and patted the
seat of his new bike. “I’ve been dreaming of you straddling this bad boy.” She
leaned closer and gave him a sexy glance, her voice was like silk. “Go on now,
make my dreams a reality.”

     
Jake raised his eyebrows and smirked, look
at her being all seductive. He’d be a liar if he said his dick didn’t twitch at
the sight of her. He growled as his body brushed passed hers, hoping she knew
he was ready to eat her alive. He gripped the handlebars and threw one leg over
the body of the bike, and straddled it. She stepped back and watched him make
himself comfortable.

     
Jake ignited the engine and the bike
sounded instantly. He closed his eyes, savoring the beautiful symphony it sang.
He placed his helmet on his head and fastened the chin strap. Life was full of unexpected
turns, and his was a winding road but at that one particular moment, he felt
like everything was exactly how it should be. There was no illness, no darkness
knocking on his door. He looked around as he kicked up the kickstand. His
family stood around Cara. He thanked God, for each of them. Without them this
journey meant nothing. Cara blew him a kiss.

     
“Be careful.” She mouthed. Most
importantly, he had her, at the risk of sounding like a lovesick sap, she was
his savior. He blew out a heavy breath and peeled out of the spot, he heard the
other bikes and when he glanced over his shoulder, they followed his lead.

     
With a brigade of motorcycles behind him,
Jake peeled out of the parking lot. He glanced at his side mirror and saw the
banner that read “Light the Night.” He flicked on the headlights of the
motorcycle and accelerated. The headlights of the motorcycles lit the road they
traveled in honor of him and his battle.

     
Cara had offered to stay behind and help
the crew at Rudy’s clean up after the benefit. As she helped her co-workers
move tables back to their rightful positions and place chairs accordingly, she
couldn’t help but think of what an amazing night it had been. Sam had really
thought of everything. When the riders made their way back to Rudy’s, the band
went on and kicked off the celebration. They had raised an impressive amount of
money that would go to research and help those who suffered from Jake’s
illness.

     
She wiped down one of the tables, and couldn’t
help the smile that played upon her lips. She would never forget the look on
Jake’s face when he saw the bike. She knew how he felt when he saw it. He had
been making her feel that exact same way for years, with his thoughtful
gestures and the love behind each and every one of them.

     
He truly was amazing. She knew that
though, she knew that from the very first night she came to him after her
father had beaten her. Through the years his un-wavering devotion to her, had
proven the man he was. And now he was hers.

     
Jake was convinced he was on the road to
recovery and while Cara hoped he was right, she was scared, more scared then
she had ever been in her life. She would never admit it though. She wasn’t a
church goer, and wouldn’t deem herself religious, but she found herself praying
to God, every night. She’d pray for him to take away Jake’s illness, and for
them to be able to leave those dark days behind them. More than anything, she
wanted for them to live out their dreams together. But no matter the outcome,
she’d take what she could. If Jake’s battle wasn’t through yet, she’d be by his
side every step of the way until it was.

     
Jake paced back and forth in the dark
parking lot of Rudy’s. He had gone home after the event just as he had planned
and grabbed his Harley. Cara wasn’t expecting him to pick her up, and she sure
wasn’t expecting anything else he had planned. He blew out at a breath, and
damned himself. Now was a fine time not to be a smoker, fucking cancer. He
reached into his back pocket and pulled out a lollipop. He stared down at the
sucker and shook his head nothing like, taking the edge off with a dum-dum
lollipop. He shoved it in his mouth and crossed his arms against his chest.

     
Maybe he should’ve planned this better. He
could’ve taken her out to dinner or taken her on one of those, horse and
carriage rides. He had heard people get engaged all the time in those things.
He didn’t really like that idea though. The smell of horses disgusted him, how
the hell could a woman think that’s romantic. He laughed at himself; he was
actually contemplating on how he could romance Cara into agreeing to marry him.
What a joke.

     
He didn’t need to be anything than what he
was, she loved him flawed and all and he knew that. So him standing around
second guessing how he was going to ask the one girl who meant everything to
him, if she would share her life with him and be his wife, was a waste of time.
He just had to be himself. Just had to be the Jake he had always been to her.

     
Then he went pale. What he should be
worrying about, is if she said no. Imagine that. All the lollipops in the state
wouldn’t get him through that one. He ran his hand over his head. Well shit, he
hadn’t thought about that. The pacing continued again. What if she didn’t want
to marry him, could he really blame her? He believed he was okay, that cancer
was just passing through, but what if that wasn’t the case. Maybe he should’ve
waited until he knew for sure. He didn’t want to bring her down in the pit of
hell with him. He was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, and he was about
to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him. Every dream she had for
herself in the future, a home, a family, kid’s, all that he wanted to be able
to give her. He wanted to be the one man that made all those dreams of hers
come true.

     
Fuck, Jake! Cut it out, he told himself.
If Cara knew he had been thinking these thoughts that would be the only reason
she’d say
no
. All the, what if’s in
the world didn’t matter, and deep in his heart he knew that. Maybe they
wouldn’t have forever, but whatever time they did have, he knew no other man
would love Cara the way he did. He reclaimed his confidence and grabbed his
phone. Show time, he told himself as he texted his girl that he was outside.

     
“I’m going to take you on the ride of your
life.” He said to himself as he stared at her picture on the screen of his
phone.

     
Her phone chimed from in her back pocket.
When she reached for it, she saw the text message from Jake. “I’m
outside.”
 
He had gone home, when she
decided to stay behind to help with the cleanup. Cara didn’t think much of it,
she figured the length of the day and all the festivities had caused him to be
tired. She smiled down at the screen of her phone and looked around the bar.
She bid her goodbyes to the crew finishing up and headed out the front
door.
 

     
When she stepped into the parking lot she
felt a sense of déjà vu. Jake was leaning against his original motorcycle. His
feet were crossed at his ankles and he held a helmet dangling from the chin
strap by one finger. He looked handsome as he leaned against the bike, staring
at her with that crooked grin of his. It was the early hours of the morning,
just around the same time when he first asked her to hop on the back of his
bike and took her for a ride.

     
“I thought you’d be fast asleep by now.”
She said as she took a few steps towards him.

     
He shook his head and uncrossed his feet,
standing to his full height. He cocked his head and studied her. Cara swallowed
harshly against the lump in her throat, he was looking at her as if it was the
first time he saw her. He reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind
her ear, and she felt as if an electric current had passed through them. She
wondered if they’d always feel that pull, even when they were old and the years
had passed them by.

     
“It felt great out there today, on the
road.” He said as he kept his hand on the strand of hair he had safely tucked
away. “But something was missing.”

     
She squinted and forced herself to try and
focus on what he was saying. She was too distracted by the way the moonlight
danced in his blue eyes. “What was missing?” She said, finding her voice.

     
“You.” He said simply before smiling
softly at her. “It’s not quite as fun, as it is when you’re wrapped around me.”

     
She laughed, if only she was immune to his
charms. He glanced down and remembered the helmet he had for her. He lifted it
and slid it over her wild locks of hair. She tucked the loose strands behind
her ears and he fastened the strap under her chin. He yanked it, making sure it
was tight enough before bending his knees a bit to be eyelevel with her. He
laced his fingers with hers and peered at her.
                                                                                   

     
“Go for a ride with me?” He whispered.
Cara was taken aback by the question in his voice, and the emotions in his
gaze. Her tongue snaked out and ran nervously along her lower lip before she
managed to nod. He processed her answer for a moment and then grinned. He
leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers, in the softest of kisses.

     
When he straddled the bike she took her
cue and climbed on behind him. She wrapped her arms around as tightly as she
could, leaning into his body and breathing in his scent. He stole a quick
glance at her from over his shoulder before he peeled out onto the open road.

     
The wind swept through them, and they
became alive against the dawn of a new day. They drove and drove as they did on
their first ride. The bends in the road were familiar to her, and she swayed
against him, when they took a turn. She could feel his heart beat under the thin
fabric of his T-shirt as her hands laid flat against his chest.

     
They had ridden for a little bit less than
an hour before Jake turned onto the dirt road that led to their spot. When he
turned off the engine, part of her didn’t want to get off the bike. She wished
they could ride forever, locked away in their bubble of happiness. Jake climbed
off the bike and placed his hands on her hips, he lifted her off the seat and
she swung her leg over. When he set her down on her feet, her body brushed the
length of his. He smiled down at her and took one of her hands, he walked
backwards not taking his eyes off of hers.

     
When they reached the cliff that
overlooked the train tracks, he moved around her and wrapped his arms around
her waist from behind. They took in their surroundings, and remained silent in
their comfortable embrace. The sky was changing colors right before them as the
sun began to peak.

     
“You remember the first time we came
here?” He said against her ear.

     
She smiled as she remembered and leaned
into him. “Of course I do. You declared this place ours.” Her voice was wistful
as she pictured that day in her head. They had sat on those rocks to the left
of where they stood now. It was the birthplace of their contingency plan.

     
He ran his hands down her arms, and she
could feel how sweaty they were. She looked over her shoulder at him. He wasn’t
sweating, and didn’t look as if he was suffering from anything other than
nerves. She turned in his arms and reached up to touch his cheek.

     
“Are you okay?” Her eyes searched his for
the answer to her question. He didn’t answer though. Instead, he blew out a
strangled breath and looked down at his feet. Her fingertips traveled his jaw
and tipped his chin upward. He smiled crookedly, almost sheepishly, as he met
her gaze.

     
“What’s the matter, Jake?” Her voice
cracking as her nerves began to take over. She couldn’t remember a time when
she had seen him this nervous.

     
He licked his lips and stared at her,
before he slowly took the hand she held to his face in his. He looked down at
their joined hands and then back up into her eyes.

     
“Cara.” He began, and then he cleared his
throat. When he started again, he sounded more like himself, but still his
voice was raspy. “You’ve been my best friend. You’ve been my lover. And you’ve
been my pillar of strength.” He exhaled sharply and smiled as she cocked her
head. She didn’t know where this was going and she was a beat away from
interrupting him and rambling nonsense just to shut him up.

     
“I was wondering if you’d be willing to
add one more thing to that list.” He said as he raised an eyebrow and was
grinning like an innocent boy asking for another cookie from the cookie jar. He
looked so young right then and there, so carefree and full of life. She felt
the vice on her heart loosen a bit and laughed.

     
“You just name it.” She said and she heard
the relief in her voice.

     
“You sure about that?” His face suddenly
grew serious.

There
was nothing he could ask of her that she wouldn’t be willing to give. She
nodded, confidently.

     
“Do you even have to ask?” She tilted her
head to the side and smiled at him lovingly. She fought the frown that
threatened. She wished he didn’t feel the need to physically ask her anything.
He should know by now that she would go to the ends of the world for him.

He
bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. Staring at her, he saw everything that
had brought them to this moment reflected in her eyes. The friendship that was
the cement of who they were, the love that overpowered anything he ever felt
before in his life. The devotion that shined in her hazel eyes, made his heart
heavy.

     
Suddenly, Jake’s lips quirked and he began
to shift. Their eyes locked and he watched the shock appear in hers as he
kneeled in front of her on one knee. He took her hands in his and grinned
wildly at her. This was it. She was it.

     
“Cara, will you be my wife?” He asked and
looked up at her with hope in his eyes. Please say yes, he silently prayed.

     
She was positive, standing there and staring
at his face, that, she would die remembering how he looked at her that very
moment. She gasped and sobbed at the same time. He wanted to marry her. The
tears fell uncontrollably down her cheeks. She had never wanted anything more.

     
“You’re asking me to marry you. You’re on
your knee asking me to be your wife.” She said in shock and he merely grinned
at her.

     
“You’d make me the luckiest man in the
world if you said yes.” He said and squeezed her hand reassuring her that he
meant every word.

     
Her eyes widened as she realized this
wasn’t a dream and a smile spread across her face.

“Yes.”
She laughed. “Oh my God, yes!” She fell to her knees and threw her arms around
him, pulling him tightly to her. She could feel the tension in his body release
itself as she embraced him.

     
“I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life
making you happy.” He said into her ear as he held onto her for dear life.